Sunday, January 29, 2012

I took this test that a friend sent me. It is a test to learn what your strongest spiritual gifts are. It was well worth 10-15 minutes of my time. So I'm going to post it here, and I think you should print it out and take it too. Then post what your spiritual gifts are and what you learned because I would love to know!!

I scored highest in Encouragement, Helping, Mercy, and Service. I wasn't much surprised at those results. Out of those four, I would have guessed my highest would be Encouragement, but it's actually the lowest. My highest of those four is Mercy. That somewhat surprised me.

My lowest scoring gifts were Administration, Evangelism, Knowledge, Leadership, Prophecy, and Wisdom. Now, I will say, I was a bit surprised that Wisdom was in this category...What? Am I not wise? :) It was interesting that leadership was in this category at well. Leadership is something I have a hard time with, because I know I don't like it, and I know I'm not super great at it. And that scares me because of the career I've chosen. One day, and possibly in the next few years, I'm going to have to step up and take leadership of projects and people, and schedules and deadlines, and tests and studying, etc. etc. etc. It's going to be tough. Am I ready for this?

Something I wonder about...and have wondered about in the past...Just because one isn't strong in an area, does not mean one can't master it, right? Meaning, just because I scored lowest in Leadership as a gift, doesn't mean that I can't train myself to be good at it. I mean, one can do anything if he/she puts his/her mind to it. Anything is possible! BUT, just because it's possible...is it worth it? Is it worth the time and effort and money and sacrifices to master something you really aren't gifted at to begin with? Or maybe I'm just trying to make an excuse to not master Leadership. Or maybe I'm worrying too much about this. :) Or maybe I'm just trying to make a point to know what your strongest gifts are, so you can serve and work in those areas.

P.S. I'm really good at worrying. (This is something I'm working on...)

Anyway, moving on...the gifts that I scored average on were Discernment, Faith, Giving, Shepherding, and Teaching.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Currently reading this book with two friends -- Who Has Your Heart by Emily Ryan.

This week's chapter really got to me--the difference between weeping and whining. Just like the difference between happiness and joy. Here are some thoughts from the chapter:

Whining tends to point fingers, while weeping does not. Just like the Israelites in search of the promised land, they tended to blame Moses when things weren't going as they had hoped. They whined to him and said it was his fault time after time. When we whine, we are no different from the Israelites.

Whining also leaks out with envy. So many times we're not grieving our situation. Instead, we're grieving that our situation is not the same as someone else's.

On the other hand, grief turns into joy. Grief is for a period of time. Whining can go on forever and just turns into more whining. Look at these verses, "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy" Psalm 126:5. "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" Psalm 30:5. "I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy...Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy" John 16:20, 22.

In this book, Emily Ryan is focusing on the story of Jephthah's daughter in Judges 11, and how she was sacrificed by her dad and was to never be married. So in response, Jephthah's daughter says, "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry." She weeped, for a period of time, and spent that time in the hills with her friends and Father.

Check this out--In the book of Deuteronomy, there is a law that says that a new husband should not be sent off to war during the first year of his marriage. Instead, he should be "free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married" (24:5). Notice the husband can bring happiness to his wife. It doesn't say joy. Happiness focuses on self while joy focuses on Christ. In fact, Emily Ryan ventures to say that one cannont experience joy at all apart from Jesus Christ. So if what we are weeping over really is weeping and not whining, and if we want our grief to turn to joy, we need to shift our attention away from us, and focus on God.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Speaking of mountains, I got to see the great blue ridge mountains this past weekend in Gatlinburg, TN. They were gorgeous! Sitting out on the rocking chair porch (with this view) was amazing! Then at night, seeing the stars crystal clear, and being able to identify the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, Orion's belt, and Cassiopeia was super cool in and of itself! I so love just looking up into the gigantic night sky seeing stars upon stars. It is very humbling sitting there below the huge expanse of a sky, thinking about how huge the universe is, and how small I am, and simultaneously having the feeling of overwhelming, unconditional love from God--how he loves me, small me, and is yet so big and vast and powerful that he created all the stars, and so much more I can't even begin to see.

Monday, January 2, 2012

As I sat reading Genesis 1 and 2 today, I was reading it as if I were Moses standing on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments and law, and receiving the inspired words from God himself (that today have become Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy)--words to record for future generations. Just imagine for a moment:

You are standing on the summit of Mt. Sinai, God speaks out to you and says "write this down word for word" and so you begin writing "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, 'LET THERE BE LIGHT' and there was light. And God saw that the light was good."

Then as God continues to speak, you continue recording his words, and being Moses, you realize for the first time how man and woman came to be... "Then God said 'Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us." And as God continues unfolding the story of creation, you see a pattern----things happen when God speaks.

God continues, and you write, "When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, neither wild plants nor grains were growing on earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth (oh right! This was before Noah when rain didn't exist yet!)...Then the Lord planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made...(ah, the famous Garden! The one none of us have ever seen--can't help but wonder if this is what Moses was thinking as he was recording this)...In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil...Then the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, 'You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden--except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.' "

Wow, just think what it was like standing in God's presence on Mt. Sinai as he unfolds the story of the beginning to you! Just imagine the splendor of being in the Garden of Eden eating the fruit from all the trees and from the tree of life and living at peace with all the animals and feeling no shame--"Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame." I'm sure Moses was imagining this as God presented these famous Genesis words to him on that mountain. And I'm sure Moses was so excited to go and share these new found glories to the rest of the Israelites.